Understanding consumer behavior is the goal of every organization globally. Consumers vary in buying, utilizing, and disposing of goods and services. When identifying their customers and target market, organizations are always concerned about whether they will interact with their final consumers or businesses (Rėklaitis, & Pilelienė, 2019). They, therefore, adopt various business models and strategies that make them attain a competitive advantage against their competitors. Some models such as business to consumer (B-to-C) and business to business (B-to-B) are often utilized. Although B2B and B2C are different in several ways, such as their target audience, sales circle, and decision process, they are similar in that both value customers, concern real people, and goals.
Marketing concepts used to attract the target market are different between the models. In B2B, the most identifiable characteristic of the audience is their profession, such as the higher-level company executives. On the other hand, B2C buying behavior is based on their interests and affinity. (Kotler & Keller, 2015). While B2B marketing focuses on selling its products to other businesses, B2C focuses on the consumer as the end-user of the product. Since many people are involved before sales are made in B2B, the decision-making process is longer than in B2C, where one person is involved in decision-making.
The models have some similarities, both offer customer-centric sales that include value and great experience to their customers. They also share the same objectives, they focus on solving customer problems by defining their profiles and buying behavior (Rėklaitis & Pilelienė, 2019). In addition, both models handle real people, that is, the buyers and sellers on both sides. The customer behavior topic tackles how consumer behavior is influenced by several factors such as personal, cultural, and societal factors, which apply to B2B marketing. B2B must understand the consumer factors to meet its customer needs (Kotler & Keller, 2015). For instance, Aramark corporation provides food services to several companies. The company has applied consumer behavior topics in understanding its clients to acquire a competitive advantage through collaboration with suppliers to create customized products for its clients.
References
Kotler, P., Keller, K. L. (2015). Marketing management (15th ed.). Pearson Education.
Rėklaitis, K., Pilelienė, L. (2019). Principle differences between B2B and B2C marketing communication processes. Organizacijų vadyba: sisteminiai tyrimai= Management of organizations: systematic research. Kaunas: Vytauto Didžiojo universitetas; Sciendo, 2019, T. 81.